A Little Bit of Attitude
by jessamika
Summary: Claire is new at Hogwarts, and instantly catches the eye of bad-boy Draco... But is he really that bad?
1. Claire

**Claire**

Claire Almer was new at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. The beautiful 16-year-old girl had dirty blonde hair, grey-green eyes, and a medium complexion. She had originally gone to a very small, almost unknown Magic school in the past five years, because her parents had no money, and could not afford the books and everything that she required for Hogwarts, even though they were a pure blood wizarding family. 

            The reason for Claire's family's lack of money was her Aunt. When Claire was little, her mother's sister Heather broke up with her long-time husband, Rhys. Heather's life was 'apparently' in ruins. Rhys had had an affair with another woman, breaking Heather's heart. Heather had then come to stay with Claire and her family, and soon seemed to get back on her feet. Then, instead of moving out into a place of her own, she stayed with the Almers, and whenever they asked her to leave, she would pretend that she had been looking and looking for a job and a house, but had no money. So whenever Mr. Or Mrs. Almer gave her money, she would go out and spend it on alcohol, coming home late every night, blind drunk. The alcohol made her aggressive and angry. This anger she took out on Claire. She would beat her, and threaten to kill her if Claire told anyone. 

            It wasn't until her Father had walked in late one night to check on Claire, and saw his sister-in-law beating his daughter, then things finally stopped. He literally threw Heather out of the house, screaming bad words at her, threatening her with the most horrible things if she ever came within a thousand miles of his daughter again. After a lot of counselling, Claire was back on track, her parents helped her through her ordeal, and now she was a strong, assertive and absolutely stunning girl.  

            The expenses of Heather's massive spending, and then proper counselling and medical help for Claire had run down the family's money to almost nothing, and so Claire had to be sent to her tiny, inexpensive Magic school, but she didn't mind or complain a bit. She was just so grateful to her parents for getting her through her ordeal. She made the most of her school, excelling in all her classes, and known to be friendly to everyone. If someone was mean to her, she always knew just what to say, always coming back with a sharp, witty, but not too offensive answer.

            After the family's loss, one of Claire's friends at school decided to report their situation to the ministry of magic, hoping they could help the Almers with their financial problem. The Ministry of Magic decided to grant the family a VERY large amount of money, to compensate for what they had lost.


	2. The Weasleys

**The Weasleys**

Although Claire was sad to leave all her friends at her old school, she was eagerly anticipating going to Hogwarts, she wanted to meet the famous Harry Potter, and looked forward to making some new friends. The day soon came for Claire to board the Hogwarts express from platform 9¾. Her parents took her to the London train station, and they started trying to figure out how to get onto platform 9¾. 

            Just then, Claire spotted girl who looked not much younger than her, with flaming red hair. The girl was with a boy of Claire's own age, two older twin boys, a plump woman in her late 40's and a tall, lanky man of the same age, all with the same red hair. Claire guessed the older people were the parents of the other four. Something about these people's look gave Claire the impression that they weren't muggles. Her suspicion was confirmed when the mother started talking about Hogwarts.

"This is my chance." Claire thought. She ran over to the girl

"Hi! Um, I'm new at Hogwarts and I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to Platform 9¾." She addressed the whole family in general. It took her a moment to notice the boys were staring at her. She blushed.

"Oh sorry! My name is Claire. Claire Almer." She said, embarrassed that she had forgotten to introduce herself properly. The red haired girl smiled at her.

"Hi! You're going to love Hogwarts. I'm Ginny Weasley, and these are my brothers Ron, Fred and George. I'm a 5th year, Ron's a 6th year and Fred and George both finished last year. These are my parents." Claire smiled broadly. 

"How do you do Mr. And Mrs. Weasley?" she said politely.

"Hello dear." Mrs Weasley said. Her husband smiled and nodded at her then went over to introduce himself to her parents.

"To get to the platform, all you have to do is walk through the wall between platforms 9 and 10." Mrs Weasley said to her kindly.

"Thankyou so much!" Claire said to her. Then she turned to Ginny and her brothers.

"I'm going to be a 6th year aswell." She said, smiling at Ron.

            Mrs Weasley motioned for Fred and George to go first. Claire watched them disappear through the wall, then watched Ron go through aswell. Ginny motioned for Claire to follow her, and they went through the barrier together, and their parents followed them, talking to each other. Claire stopped in amazement. There was a big red steam train, like the ones she used to play with when she was little. It had a sign on the front that read "Hogwarts Express."

"Wow." Claire breathed, impressed. She glanced at a clock nearby. It read 10.55. Her train was leaving in five minutes.

            Ginny helped Claire load her things onto the train, then Claire went to say goodbye to her parents. After all goodbyes were done, the girls got onto the train and found a compartment with Ron, and his two friends, Hermione Granger, and none other than Harry Potter himself.

"Hello!" she said to them both cheerfully, smiling. She noticed both Harry and Ron were staring at her again, and blushed. She saw Hermione and Ginny roll their eyes at the boys, and sat down between them, giggling to herself.


	3. A Meeting

**A Meeting**

Just when they all had a nice pleasant conversation going, a bunch of people walked in. In the lead was a very hot blonde haired boy, with blue eyes. With him were two very large, and very slow looking boys. A girl was also with them, she looked somewhat like a pug, and had two other girls with her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Draco Malfoy, his goons Crabbe and Goyle, his pet Pansy, and her two goons, Melissa, and Chenae." Ron said.

Ginny, Hermione, and Harry all started laughing their guts out, rolling around on the floor. Claire grinned, but introduced herself politely to the newcomers.

"Hi. I'm Claire Almer." She said.

"Hello. I like the look of you. Are you new?" asked Pansy. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were staring at Claire too. This was making her very uncomfortable.

"Okay, can you all stop staring at me?! I've had enough of it today!" she said, exasperated.

"I really like you. I like that attitude." Pansy said again. Malfoy's eyes had widened. He struggled to regain his composure.

"Are you Mudblood or Pureblood?" He demanded.

"I'm Pureblood. Is that okay with you, General?" she asked mockingly.

"And don't say Mudblood. I hate that word." She told him with her eyebrows raised.

"You go girl!" said Pansy. "I'll see you at Hogwarts. I hope you get in Slytherin"

Draco smirked, then left. Hermione and Ginny looked at her, smiling their praise.

Ron and Harry sat up, wide eyed, looking at her.

"Wow." Said Ron. "That was bloody brilliant!"

"I'm just glad you're talking to me and not staring at me anymore." Claire replied.

            The train was slowing down, as it came to the station in Hogsmeade. Everyone got out, and Claire was swept into the crowds, losing Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. She climbed into a carriage, wanting to get out of the rain that had started on the way there.

She saw that Pansy, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were already in the carriage.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Of course not!" Pansy said before Draco could object.

Claire took a seat between the two of them, and started talking to Pansy, turning her back on Draco, although she could feel his eyes boring into her. Not that she minded the attention from this very hot boy.

"I meant what I said." Pansy was saying. "I hope you get in Slytherin."

"So do I" Claire and Draco thought.

            The carriages had now arrived at the castle, and Claire breathed her appreciation. She got out of the carriage.

"Thanks for letting me ride to the castle with you!" she told them all, smiling. Pansy smiled back at her, and Draco just nodded, although inside he was reeling from that beautiful smile. 


	4. Slytherin

**Slytherin**

Claire followed the crowds into the castle, where a stern looking woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun met her. 

"Miss Almer, I presume?" The woman asked her.

"Yes, I'm Claire Almer." She replied.

"Good. My name is Professor Mcgonagall. You will be sorted into your house after the first years. Please wait behind them, and I will call your name when we are ready for you." The Professor continued.

"Okay, thankyou." She replied.

            Claire followed the first years into the great hall, and stood behind them as their numbers slowly went down as they were sorted. She glanced around the hall, and looked over to the Slytherin table and saw that Draco Malfoy was watching her again. She felt a very pleasant feeling in her stomach, and smiled to herself. 

"Claire Almer." She heard her name and went to sit on the stool, and felt the sorting hat placed on her head. Then she heard the voice, now familiar to everyone at Hogwarts, talking almost to itself.

"Well then. I see a lot of knowledge, and courage too. But there is also determination, and wit! Someone with a bit of attitude, I think. Hmm. I think I'll put you in…SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table exploded with cheering and applause, but no one was happier about Slytherin's gain than Malfoy.

            Claire went and sat down next to Pansy, across the table from Draco. The moment she sat down, he caught her eye.

"Congratulations." He said, half smiling, not wanting to seem too soft.

"Thanks." She replied, smiling back and blushing slightly. The food appeared and everyone dug in. The whole time, Claire was busy talking to Pansy and her friends, and smiling and flirting a bit with Draco.

            When dinner finished, she followed Pansy, Melissa and Chenae to the Slytherin common room. They got to the entrance there and Pansy said

"Did anyone happen to find out the new password?" Everyone oohed and aahed, then a voice behind them said

"Halfblood." The entrance opened, and Pansy walked in. Claire stopped and turned around to see who had told them. It was Draco.

"Thanks Draco," she said, smiling.

"Since when were we on first name terms?" he asked jokingly.

"Okay, so you're gonna call me Almer all the time then are you?" she replied, then nudged him with her elbow, and walked in, grinning. He took a deep breath, gathered his composure and walked in.

            Later that night in bed, Pansy and Claire were talking.

"Who has the major hots for you?" she said teasingly. Claire giggled.

"I don't mind in the least!" she replied.

"You're a very lucky girl." Pansy said to her. "Most girls only dream about him liking them" she continued.

"Well, I guess this is a dream come true for me then." Claire said, now very happy.

"Oh, by the way, what do you seen in the Mudblood and her friends?" Pansy continued

"I see a lot in them. Hermione is smart, kind and friendly, Ginny was the first person to help me before I even got on the train. Harry and Ron are both really nice too. But all you people ever think about is they're too poor, or they're Muggle-born, or they're famous, I hate them. Did you ever try to look past that?" Claire said, getting very angry at Pansy for putting down the first people she had ever met from Hogwarts, the people who had accepted her straight away, whether she was Pureblood or Muggle-born. "And you know what?" she continued "They accepted me straight away. You had to wait until you knew if I was Pure or not. So shove your opinion, because if you don't like them, that's fine with me, but I'm NOT going to turn against them just for the likes of you." Pansy started to say something, but Claire interrupted her.

"Leave me alone! I'm trying to sleep." She heard Pansy sigh, and turned over. She knew the other girl would be awake for a long time, thinking about Claire's words.


	5. That Attitude

**That Attitude…**

The next morning, Claire got up early, dressed and went down into the common room. Draco was there, he seemed to be waiting for her.

"Morning Almer" He said with a cheeky grin

"Morning." She replied, smiling gently.

"Who's a bit down?" he asked

"Don't ask. You'll probably agree with Pansy anyway." She said bitterly

"So tell me what happened."

"No."

"Fine! Then let's go have some breakfast."

"Fine." They were just leaving the common room when Pansy called out.

"Claire! Wait! I'm sorry about what I said last night."

"I'll bet." She muttered under her breath. Draco was looking very confused.

"All that stuff you said to me last night, I understand, and I'm sorry." Pansy said. Claire's expression softened.

"Okay. I forgive you." She said, smiling at her.

"Get the girly stuff over with and tell me what is going on!" Draco said to them. They both giggled.

"Pansy can tell you at breakfast, I'm going to sit with Ginny and the others." Draco scowled, but Claire raised her eyebrows at him and he said nothing.

            As they entered the Great Hall, Claire went over to the Gryffindor table, and took a seat next to Hermione. She smiled around at the group, and they smiled back.

"So how is it, being in Slytherin?" Harry asked. "I don't know how you can talk to that lot."

"Do you know them?" she asked him

"What do you mean?" he asked

"have you ever exchanged any civilised conversation with them is what I mean!" she said. "I had the same argument with Pansy last night about you lot!" 

"Well, no…" Harry continued quietly.

"Then leave them alone!" she told him angrily. The subject was dropped


	6. A Kiss To Remember

**A Kiss to Remember**

After breakfast, Claire went back to the Slytherin common room and gathered up her things for her first class, Transfiguration. 

"What do you have first?" she asked Draco and Pansy

"Transfiguration."

"Cool, so do I." She said. They started walking there together.

            Claire's day went by really quickly. She found she had all her classes with either Pansy, Draco, Hermione, Ron or Harry. At the end of the day, they all headed to the Great Hall, and Claire sat at the Slytherin Table. After dinner they headed to the common room and did homework, before going to bed.

            Over the next few weeks, Claire got into her routine of classes, doing homework and spending time with her Slytherin and Gryffindor friends. At night, after they had both finished their homework, Claire and Draco had started to become good friends. It amazed her how different he was alone to when he was with other people. The two talked about lots of different things, and became very close, although they both wanted there to be more between them.

            One day, Claire had Care of Magical Creatures out in the Hogwarts grounds with all her friends, not just her Slytherin ones. It was the last class of the day, before dinner. During the class when Hagrid was explaining something, Draco came over to her and whispered in her ear.

"Come with me after class. I want to show you something." She nodded to him. The class finished and she made up an excuse, saying she wanted to see the creatures for a bit longer. Draco did the same. They walked a little way away from Hagrid's hut, then stopped. Claire looked at her friend.

"What did you want to show me?" she asked. Before he knew what he was doing, Draco had grabbed Claire's hand and was leading her to a bushy area in the grounds. They stopped behind the clump of bushes and sat down on the grass.

"I wanted to show you the sunset." He said shyly.

"How sweet!" she said, grinning. Then she gave him a hug. He was surprised at first, then hugged her back, smiling.

            They settled down to watch the sunset.

"This is so beautiful, Draco." Claire said, staring at the golden sky above them.

"It reminds me of you." He replied, without looking at her. She looked over at him. His cheeks were a bit pink. He turned his head to look at her and smiled. They kept staring at each other, inching closer, until their lips met slightly, and then pressed together more firmly. A gust of wind blew a strand of her hair onto her face, and they parted. Claire let out her breath slowly, still staring into those deep blue eyes. Draco moved the strand of hair back behind her ear, then kissed her again, and she kissed back. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, then Claire sighed and looked at the sky. The sun had almost set.

"You don't know how long I've wanted you to do that." She said cheekily. 

"You don't know how long I wanted to do it." He replied, smiling. She giggled, and snuggled up to him to watch the sun go down.

            Claire sat up properly, and looked at Draco.

"Does everyone need to know yet? Or shall we wait?" she asked him.

"Lets wait." He replied

"Okay." She said, giving him a kiss.

He got up and held his hand down for her. She held it and got up, not letting go. They walked back to the castle and into the common room to drop off their bags before going to dinner.


	7. Story Time

**Author's note!!… I want at LEAST 1 review for every new chapter I put up starting now!! If I don't get the reviews, you don't get more story!! And believe you me, there is lots of it to come yet… this story (13 chaps) aswell as it's sequel (24 chaps) and I've started the last one in the trilogy, so I swear, as much as I want to post the rest of the story, I won't if people don't review… after this chapter is where it gets really exciting…** **Story time**

All throughout dinner, Claire and Draco could not take their eyes off each other, although no one except Pansy seemed to notice this. She was talking to Claire while they did their homework.

"Someone's a happy little girl today aren't they?" Pansy asked

"What do you mean?" Claire asked her innocently

"I saw you and lover boy leave after Care of Magical Creatures." Her friend said to her with a mischievous glint in her eye. Claire made sure no one was listening.

"We watched the sunset." She replied quietly.

"And? That wasn't why you were so happy and staring at each other all through dinner!" Pansy remarked.

"And…" Claire continued

"Spit it out!" The other girl said.

"And… He…He kissed me." Claire said, even quieter.

"Thought so."

"So then why did you ask?!" she said, exasperated.

"Just making sure."

"Don't tell, we want to keep it quiet."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

            Claire spent most of the night awake, thinking about the kiss. She decided she couldn't sleep and went down to the common room, hoping to find Draco there. 

"Hey beautiful." A familiar voice said. She looked to make sure they were alone.

"Hey yourself." She answered, walking up to him. She stopped in front of him, wet her lips, and gave him a big kiss. She stepped back and laughed at the look on his face, while he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"I'll get you now!" he said quietly.

"Good. I'm all yours." She replied, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissing him. Then all of a sudden he swept her off her feet and carried her over to one of the lounges, and put her down, then sat down beside her. She turned a bit, stretched her legs out over the lounge, then laid back against his chest. 

"So tell me the story of your life." Draco said to her.

"It's long." She said. "And boring."

"Oh well, neither of us is going to sleep, so you might as well."

"Okay then." She continued to tell the story of her Aunt, and how she had taken all of her family's money, and how she was sent to a very cheap school, until the ministry of magic gave her family the money they needed, and sent her to Hogwarts.

"Wow." He said. "How could she do something like that? Hurt you. If she ever came near you again…" he trailed off.

"Don't worry, my parents would deal with her." She said.

"So would I." Draco replied seriously, looking down at her.

"My hero." She joked, smiling. He laughed.

"I love it when you smile. It makes your eyes light up." He said, bending down to kiss her. At the last minute, she licked her lips again, giving him a nice sloppy kiss. He laughed and got her back. 


	8. Oh No You Don't!

**Oh No you Don't**

They talked for ages, and Claire started to get sleepy. Draco saw that she was asleep, and let her lay against him, just looking at her. She was so peaceful asleep. He sat there for what seemed like hours onwards, stroking her hair and looking at her. Finally, he gently got up, and lay her down on the couch, kissing her on the forehead, and covering her with a blanket, then sitting in the armchair. He soon fell asleep too. Later on, Claire woke up, and put the blanket over Draco, giving him a kiss, then going back up to the dormitory.

            When she came down in the morning, he was there, but the blanket was gone and he had changed into his robes.

"Morning." She said, giving him a hug. He returned her hug.

"Morning." No one else was in the common room, so they exchanged a quick kiss.

"Let's do something different tonight, because it's Friday and the weekend is coming up." She said to him.

"Okay, we'll go to the place where we watched the sunset after dinner." He told her.

"Okay, make sure you wear something warm." She replied.

            As she expected, the day went really slowly, but as it wore on, Claire had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. She decided to ignore it, thinking it was just something she had eaten. Finally the day ended, and she went to dinner, not eating much, because the feeling was still there. After dinner, she went back to the dormitory and changed into a nice skirt and top, doing her hair up nicely, then grabbing her jacket, she went downstairs. Draco was just leaving, so she waited a few minutes before following, letting Pansy know before she left.

"Have fun!" her friend said.

            Claire slipped out of the castle and put on her jacket. She walked down to their spot and saw Draco already there. She walked up and kissed him.

"Well hel-lo gorgeous!" he said, clearly awed.

"You look pretty damn fine yourself." She replied stepping back to look at him. He was wearing baggy jeans and t-shirt under his heavy jacket. She sighed, her heart beating faster when she looked at him. 

"Let's go somewhere more covered." He suggested, taking her hand. She nodded her agreement and started walking, but then he picked her up and carried her. They went to a small clearing surrounded by trees that was next to the lake. He set her down on the ground then sat beside her.

"You know, you shouldn't have worn that top." He told her, motioning to the fitted top, which exposed a bit of cleavage and belly.

"Why?" she asked him.

"Because it's quite a turn on. I could get tempted to take it off you." He said.

"I trust you. I know you wouldn't without my permission." She told him.

"You're right. But I can always try!" he said, leaning over to kiss her. She pushed herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pushed her back so she was laying down, and held his body over hers, holding himself up with his hands on    the ground on either side of her body. He was about to lean in and kiss her again when she spoke.

"I can see down your top like that." She told him, grinning devilishly. He laughed.

"Not much to see down there." He told her. "Nothing interesting anyway." He continued, before kissing her again. He lay down beside her and she moved in closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his hand on her stomach, and she rested her hand on top of his. They looked up at the stars, looking at the different constellations and talking idly. Claire suddenly had a thought. She rolled over so she was laying on top of Draco.

"Would your Father approve of me?" she asked him, her eyes worried.

"I think so." He said, moving a lock of hair away from her eyes and reaching to kiss her. He could tell she was still worried.

"Well, you're Pureblood, and you're a great person, just don't tell him about your situation after your Aunt or what school you originally went to and he should be fine." He continued, then chuckled.

"I can see down your top now." He said then openly looked. She laughed.

"Not much to see down there." She mimicked what he had said earlier, but made no move to cover herself up. She wasn't totally exposed. She leaned down and kissed him, then grabbed each of his hands as they inched upwards, underneath her shirt.

"Oh no you don't." she told him.

"Why not?" he asked, mockingly serious. "You've got a bra on don't you?" he asked.

"Yes I do." She replied. "But I think you need to learn some discipline." She said, in a parental voice. He kissed her hard, taking her by surprise and freeing his hands. They followed the curve of her body back up her shirt, his fingers running along her spine, touching her so lightly it tickled. She tried to wriggle away from it, but he held her in the kiss, and trapping her legs between his knees. She started giggling uncontrollably, his hands then moved to her waist, staying there without moving for a moment, before gently poking her on each side, tickling again, making her laugh. She let him kiss her again, before resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes, still aware of the hands on her waist.

"You know what?" she asked with her eyes still closed.

"What?" came the answer

"It still amazes me how mean you are to Harry and everyone, and then you're so nice and sweet to me." She opened her eyes to look at him.

"Well, I don't spend my nights making out with them, do I?" he said.

"I would certainly hope not!" she said, laughing.

"But why are you so mean to them? What did they do to you?" she asked him.

"You really want to know?" he asked

"Yup."

"Okay. He…He wouldn't be friends with me. I offered him the chance, but he said he could choose his own friends." The reply was sheepish. She couldn't help but laugh.

"We'll have to see if we can change that." She said. "But in the meantime, no more making out with him. I don't want 'Potter Germs'" she said jokingly.

"Speaking of making out…" he went on, starting to kiss her. The kisses went on and on, each more enjoyable than the last, and Claire really enjoying herself, thinking how romantic this was.


	9. Heather

**Heather**

"Oh how cute, Claire. You've found yourself a boyfriend." Said a voice behind them. Claire would know that voice anywhere. Lately it had only appeared in her nightmares. Draco saw her eyes open wide, and saw the fear that he had never seen in those beautiful eyes before. She did not turn around, she stayed on top of him, almost like she was protecting him.

"Is that Heather?" he mouthed

"Yes" she mouthed back. Suddenly his expression hardened and he tried to get up, but he was pinned down by Claire. There was no fear in her eyes now. It was hard hate.

He suddenly understood that she needed to do this alone, but would not let her get up, not wanting her to get hurt.

"Let. Me. Go." She growled. "This is between me and her." The hate had taken over any other emotion. He knew he had to let her go, before she throttled him. He gave her a quick kiss of encouragement. Her expression softened and she smiled at him. He let her go, and she quickly got up and turned around.

"You are supposed to be out of my life, Heather." She spat the last word out.

"Oh am I now?" asked the older woman. She was wearing the tattiest, dirtiest clothes Claire had ever seen. 

"How about a little surprise for my favourite niece?" Heather said. Claire looked at her, daring her to surprise her. But she WAS surprised. Heather pulled out a wand.

"But…I thought…I thought you didn't have magic!" Claire stammered, the fear showing in her eyes again.

"Well you thought wrong!" her Aunt yelled. And before anyone had any time to stop her, she muttered a single word, with the wand pointing straight at Claire.

"Imperio." Draco gasped. This psychotic woman had used the Imperius curse on Claire, one of the three unforgivable curses. Immediately Claire began hurting herself. She ran over to the nearest tree and started banging her head against it as hard as she could. Next she started scratching at herself, at her arms, legs, chest. Draco was horrified. Claire pulled out her pocketknife, and flicked the blade up. Before he had a chance to stop her, she had driven the knife into her side. Her clothes were now so tattered they were disintegrating, and she was soon left in only her underwear. The most unnerving thing about all these actions was that she was not crying out in pain. 

            Draco watched all this from his spot on the ground, unable to move, from grief, fear and anger. Suddenly his eyes widened. Claire was holding the knife to her wrist, slowly bringing it down.

"Claire, NO!!!" he screamed, jumping up. He bolted to where she was kneeling on the ground and grabbed both her arms and held them tightly. She struggled, desperately trying to free herself. He refused to let go.

"Claire! Claire! Look at me! Listen to me! Fight it! Fight her! You don't have to do what she says! Say No!" She faltered for a moment, looking into those eyes she had grown to know and love. She blinked, then wrenched her arms free, cutting him in the process. He didn't even feel the pain. He dived on top of her and wrestled the knife out of her bloodied hands. Once he had it, he turned to Heather.

"Stop. Leave her alone." He said, his voice low with silent fury.

"Who's going to make me?" The woman replied, smiling as Claire began to hit her head on a rock. He ignored the woman and went to Claire. He took her hands and pulled her so she was standing in front of him.

"Claire! STOP!" he yelled, his eyes filled with tears. "Please! You have to stop! Don't listen to her!" The beautiful young woman stopped. She stared into his eyes and all of a sudden let out a breath. Then she started to sob, the tears pouring down her cheeks, still oblivious to the fact that she was almost naked. Draco held her for a moment, then made her sit down with her back against a tree. He whipped out his wand and walked to stand in front of Heather.


	10. Very Impressive

**Very Impressive**

"Leave. Her. Alone. You stupid-" he proceeded to swear something chronic.

"Now, now. We must control our temper my boy." She said.

"F*** You" he said defiantly.

"Bad move, buddy." She said. "Crucio." Straight away, Draco was on the floor, writhing and screaming in pain. Claire knew this had to be the Cruciatus curse. Her father had threatened Heather with this curse before.

"Oh look Claire!" Heather said. "It's the curse your Father threatened me with!" she said, reading Claire's mind. Hate bubbled up inside Claire and spilled over.

"STOP IT!!!" she screamed, jumping up. "STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!!" She stood over her boyfriend, blood pouring out of her wounds, but not feeling any pain.

"Crucio." Heather said, pointing the wand at Claire. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was throughout her whole body.

"No. I refuse to cry out." Claire thought with determination. Meanwhile, the curse was no longer on Draco, but he could see Claire laying beside him, writhing in pain, but not crying out. It took all his strength, but picked up his wand and pointed it at Heather. He croaked out a few words and the woman fell to the floor, unconscious.

Claire's pain stopped immediately. She just lay there, sobbing.

"Where is she?" she asked Draco.

"She's unconscious." He told her. "It's a spell I learned from Father. She'll be out for about 12 hours." He told her, half smiling. He gathered up his strength and crawled over to her. He sat up and pulled her into his lap, taking in her body, in only her underwear, with blood all over herself. She was too weak to move. He took off his t-shirt and put it on her.

"Very impressive." She said, smiling weakly. "Sexy man, aren't you?" she continued. "But one question. Why are you putting that on me?" she asked, confused and tired.

"Because. I'm sure you don't want to be carried to the Hospital Wing in your bra and knickers, do you?" he asked, smiling. "Not that I mind seeing you like that, but I wouldn't want to share that sight with anyone else." He told her, grinning. She managed a weak laugh.

"Can you lift me up more?" She asked him. He did as he was asked, and she kissed him, very gently. Too gently, he thought.

"I love you." She said quietly.

"I love you too, Claire." He said. "I love you more than life itself." She didn't reply.

"Claire?" he asked worriedly.

"hmm?…" came the small reply.

"How do you feel?" he asked, getting very concerned about how weak she was.

"I hurt. My side, my wrist, my shoulder, all over" she said faintly, before falling unconscious. He moved the t-shirt and examined her shoulder. There was a small gash there, but the gash was very unusual. It was in the shape of a heart. He traced around it with his fingers, then Claire flinched, and he felt a small stab of pain in his own shoulder. He turned to look at it. There was the same mark. He looked down at the girl in his arms. 

"Even when she's unconscious and bleeding, she's still the most beautiful thing on the planet." He thought. "And she's all mine." He said aloud, before leaning against the tree at his back, and falling unconscious himself.


End file.
